Raiders must look toward future in final four games after another bad loss

By Case Keefer (contact)

Monday, Dec. 13, 2021 | 2 a.m.

Rich Bisaccia didn’t “have a lot of words” to explain the Raiders’ latest disappointment, a 48-9 defeat to the Chiefs, to media Sunday afternoon at Geha Field at Arrowhead.

Las Vegas’ interim coach apparently had plenty to say his players and staff, however, as his postgame address stretched several minutes longer than usual. And he made it sound like the message was stern.

“I told the coaches and players in there that we have to look at ourselves as coaches, the players have to look at themselves as players,” Bisaccia said in his postgame news conference.

After the Raiders fell to 6-7 with a second blowout loss to the Chiefs this season, that type of evaluation must happen across the entire organization — starting at the very top. A CBS Sports report from two weeks ago indicated owner Mark Davis was avoiding planning for the future and instead focused solely on the team’s goal to make the playoffs this year.

That’s no longer a luxury he can enjoy with the postseason now amounting to a pipe dream with Las Vegas having lost five of its last six games. The Raiders could still technically reach the playoffs by winning their remaining four games, or potentially even going 3-1, but that’s a tall task against a schedule that doesn’t include a single team with a losing record.

Las Vegas is also in full disarray, having slipped to the bottom of the AFC West standings with a -77 point differential on the year that only beats teams considered the dregs of the conference — Houston, Jacksonville and the New York Jets.

The offseason decisions on whether to keep key figures like Bisaccia, general manager Mike Mayock and quarterback Derek Carr are no longer distant in any fashion. They’re vital, as are calls on other personnel all the way down the roster — and who will be making them.

Carr himself hinted he was doing some assessment after the game, one that went beyond the self-variety. He recalled sleepless nights preparing for the Chiefs and heading to his office to digest more film and prepare for the game.

“That is what is expected of me and hopefully everyone looks at it that way and does the same thing,” Carr said. “I know there’s a good majority of our guys who do those things but hopefully everyone is doing it.”

Carr clarified he wasn’t pointing any fingers but also repeatedly used words like “some” and “most” to describe his level of satisfaction with his teammates’ fight and dedication. He didn’t have a good day — throwing for 266 yards on 33-for-45 passing with a touchdown, interception and lost fumble — but felt like he never quit.

Carr spoke similarly about slot receiver Hunter Renfrow, who caught a career-high 13 receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown, when asked. He said there were these types of game that revealed character.

“It lets me know who I can trust,” Carr said. “That’s for sure.”

One Raider whose effort has never been question but upset the Chiefs, if not some of his own teammates, is defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The Pro Bowl edge rusher drew a swarm of boos about 30 minutes before kickoff when he waved the whole team over for a huddle on top of the Chiefs’ logo at the 50-yard line.

“That’s pretty disrespectful,” Chiefs cornerback Mike Hughes said.

Hughes did something about it, picking up a Josh Jacobs fumble forced by defensive tackle Jarran Reed on the Raiders’ first offensive play and returning it 22 yards for a touchdown. That was the first of five Raiders’ turnovers on the day including on back-to-back drives in the second quarter that helped put the Chiefs up 35-0 inside the first-half’s two-minute warning.

First, Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu intercepted a Carr pass that tight end Foster Moreau bobbled. Then, Renfrow had his lone red mark of the day when Hughes struck again by stripping the ball for a fumble recovered by Mathieu.

“It doesn’t move me,” Mathieu said of the Raiders’ pregame display on the Chiefs’ logo. “I don’t think champions act in that manner.”

Carr appeared to resist Ngakoue’s initial motion to bring the team over, but ultimately vowed to have all of his teammates’ backs. Veteran linebacker K.J. Wright struck a similar tone.

“It was spur of the moment,” Wright said. “One guy said, ‘Let’s go,’ and we’ve all got to ride together. We all went out there together, we did it together as a team and just gave them a little more motivation.”

“I would have been upset too if I was them at anybody who comes here and does that. They definitely came out and responded to their anger. We couldn’t hold up.”

Kansas City continued throwing deep into the second quarter, perhaps later than they would have otherwise if it wasn’t facing a hated rival. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who had been enduing an up-and-down year for his standards, had his second straight big day against the Raiders with 258 yards on 20-for-24 passing with two touchdowns.

Chiefs’ running backs Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Darrel Williams and Derrick Gore combined for four touchdowns and 176 total yards. Kansas City celebrated on the field postgame while the speakers played “Wheels on the Bus,” a reference to another point of contention against Las Vegas from when it reportedly took a victory lap after last year’s win at Arrowhead.

“The mood is embarrassed,” Wright said of the locker room. “Just the way we came out, we had a really good week of practice, one of the best we’ve seen. We were dialed in, focused after the loss to Washington, knew we were going to try to make this playoff run. For us to come out and do what we did today, it’s just embarrassing.”

Wright was a veteran part of the contingent of newcomers the Raiders brought in this offseason in hopes of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2016 and winning a playoff game for the first time since 2002. That’s an aim that’s all but dissipated after the Chiefs responded to their logo being stepped on by stomping on the Raiders.

Vegas needs to look more than inward to move forward — the organization also needs to put an outward emphasis towards the future.

“We’re all professional coaches and players and we’re all being evaluated by our performance on the field and our actions off the field,” Bisaccia said. “Number one job of a pro player is to protect his job. Number one point to protect your job is your performance on the field so we’ll see what practice looks like this week, take a look at what personnel is and dig deep into what we do.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or